Design and additive manufacturing of a lightweight aerospace electric actuator

List of Authors

  1. Borja Lizarribar Carrillo ,  
  2. Borja Prieto
    ,  
  3. Miguel Martínez-Iturralde
    ,  
  4. Javier García Goikoetxea
    ,  
  5. Sergio Montes
    ,  
  6. Ekain San José
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Abstract

Background

The ambitious electrification targets set for the aeronautical sector are leading to a thorough research into improving the performance of different electromechanical components. In this regard, Additive Manufacturing is gaining strength due to the positive physical properties of the processed parts and the freedom in manufacturable geometries.

Methods

Thus, this article presents the design of an electric actuator for an aerospace active sidestick in which Additive Manufacturing is used with the aim of minimising the mass and power consumption of the device. The electromagnetic design of the actuator is detailed, considering 8 different permanent magnet machine topologies, and a mechanical design applying Topology Optimisation to reduce the overall mass of the component is carried out.

Results

Three prototypes involving the rotor, the stator and the casing are manufactured via Laser Powder Bed Fusion in stainless steel and Permendur (Fe 49Co 49V 2) and the corresponding actuators are experimentally tested, showing a great agreement between tests and simulations and excellent repeatability in the electromagnetic behaviour of the prototypes.

Conclusions

The research results highlight the great potential of Additive Manufacturing to manufacture functional electrical machine components.

Plain Language Summary

In order to analyse the potential benefits of using additive manufacturing in the production of electrical machines, this work carries out the mechanical and electromagnetic design of an electric motor, taking into account the geometrical advantages that additive manufacturing allows for the electromagnetic and mechanical design. Finally, three prototypes are manufactured and tested, showing good agreement between simulation and test results.

Corresponding author
Borja Lizarribar Carrillo
0000-0001-5056-2384
Grant information

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No [865206](ADDitively manufactured limited angle torque MOTor for Smart Active Inceptors [ADDIMOT]).

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Copyright
© 2025 Borja Lizarribar Carrillo (Corresponding Author, Co-Author); Borja Prieto (Co-Author); Miguel Martínez-Iturralde (Co-Author); Javier García Goikoetxea (Co-Author); Sergio Montes (Co-Author); Ekain San José (Co-Author) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

First version published
Latest version published
Revised

Amendment

The authors have tried to address all the concerns of the reviewers. The main changes made in the new version are
  1. More information about material selection has been added in section 2.1.
  2. A short comment on the selection of the optimization algorithm has been added in section 2.2.
  3. Figure 4 has been modified to clarify the size of the final electrical machine. A magnetic flux density plot has also been added.
  4. A thermal analysis of the motor has been added at the end of Section 2.2.
  5. Two new figures have been added to show the Ansys MotorCAD® model (Figure 5) and temperatures in the actuator model estimated in Ansys MotorCAD® (Figure 6).
  6. A panel showing the stator cut-view has been added to Figure 9 (previously labelled Figure 7).
Other minor changes have been made to address reviewer concerns.

Comments

Authors & roles

Borja Lizarribar Carrillo

CEIT-Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Manuel Lardizabal 15, Donostia / San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

Universidad de Navarra, Tecnun, Manuel Lardizabal 13, Donostia / San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

Roles
Corresponding Author, Co-Author, Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Validation, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0001-5056-2384

Borja Prieto

CEIT-Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Manuel Lardizabal 15, Donostia / San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

Universidad de Navarra, Tecnun, Manuel Lardizabal 13, Donostia / San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Supervision, Validation, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing

Miguel Martínez-Iturralde

CEIT-Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Manuel Lardizabal 15, Donostia / San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

Universidad de Navarra, Tecnun, Manuel Lardizabal 13, Donostia / San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

Roles
Co-Author, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Supervision, Writing – Review & Editing

Javier García Goikoetxea

CEIT-Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Manuel Lardizabal 15, Donostia / San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

Universidad de Navarra, Tecnun, Manuel Lardizabal 13, Donostia / San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Visualization

Sergio Montes

Egile Mechanics S.L., Polígono Industrial Kurutz-Gain, 12, Mendaro, 20850, Spain

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Resources

Ekain San José

Egile Mechanics S.L., Polígono Industrial Kurutz-Gain, 12, Mendaro, 20850, Spain

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Project Administration, Validation

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